ALBANY — With two weeks to go before New York Republicans cast their lot for president, backers of Mitt Romney are hoping for a clean sweep.

"We feel very strong," said Guy Molinari, a former congressman who serves as the GOP front-runner's campaign chairman in New York. "The expectation is Romney will win, and it helps enormously in the delegate count."

While it's a perennial fundraising stop for candidates of every political stripe and color, New York is not normally in play in presidential nominating contests. But the Republicans' primary-season game of Whac-A-Mole — different candidates have waxed and waned — has so far prevented a clear nominee from emerging.

Romney rolls into New York with more than twice the needed delegates that his closest rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, has secured. There are 231 delegates at stake on April 24 in primaries in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Romney also holds advantages in national polls and campaign fundraising.

"We're in play," said Tony Casale, chief of staff to the Republican State Committee. "Even to those who say it's all over but the shouting, there might be a lot of shouting in New York."

And all signs point to Romney finishing very well here. Most of the state's elected Republicans have endorsed him. He has had a dedicated team rounding up volunteers since last fall.

A poll by Quinnipiac University released last week showed Romney with the support of 54 percent of state voters surveyed, compared with 21 percent for Santorum, 9 percent for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and 8 percent for Rep. Ron Paul.

New York is afforded 95 delegates to the national convention. Thirty-four will be apportioned on a statewide basis — all would go to the winning candidate if he secures more than 50 percent of the popular vote in New York.

Each of the state's 29 expiring congressional districts (new boundaries delineating just 27 districts were not drawn early enough for the petitioning period) will award two delegates to whichever candidate carries it. There are also three "superdelegates," including Republican State Chairman Ed Cox.

The two-tiered structure was designed to bring candidates in and energize the base, Cox has said. Albany County Republican Chairman Don Clarey said he hoped it would lead to a presidential candidate swinging through the Capital Region — something that hasn't happened since 2000, when George W. Bush visited.

"Normally, the campaigns stop south of 110th Street in Manhattan, fundraising," said Clarey, who is backing Romney. "In some areas, for less than a thousand votes you could walk away with two delegates."

Recognizing that, Molinari said the Romney himself might swing through some areas of the state in which he is more vulnerable: western New York, and a pocket along the Nassau-Suffolk county border. He'll also be in the Empire State for three fundraisers over the coming days.

Santorum's New York backers were uncertain of his plans. The candidate suspended activities for the holiday weekend and to spend time with his 3-year-old daughter, who was hospitalized for complications relating to a genetic condition.

Gingrich's most vocal supporter, former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, told Capital New York last week that the former House speaker has a "blistering schedule" planned for New York in the next two weeks. Other Gingrich allies did not return calls seeking comment, and his campaign aides have recently said they are drastically scaling back their shoestring operation.

And allies of Paul, whose campaign has relied on grassroots volunteers, continued their push last weekend by waving signs along Wolf Road.